The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1887-01-27

who said: $50 to the anti no Watchful-
ness for the transfxed insectss Hath the
Christ who said: sBehold the fowls of the
air." Himself never beheld the outrages
heaped upon the brute creation, that can
not articulate its grief? This Christ came
not only to lift the human race out of its
trouble, but to lift out of pang and hard
ship the animal creation.
In the glorious millenial time the child
shall lead the lion and play with the cocka-
trice only because the brute and reptile
shall have no more wrongs to avenge. To
alleviate the condition of the brute crea-
ton Christ was born in the cattle pen. The
first bleat of the Lamb of God was heard
amid the tired 1ocks of the Bethlehem
shepherds. The white horse Of eternal
victory stabbed in a barn.
But notice also in this account the three
Christmas presents that are brought to the
manger-gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Gold to Christ. That means all the affiu-
ence Of the world surrendered to Him.
For lack of money no more asylums limping
on their way like the cripples whom they
helped, feeling their slow way like the
blind people they sheltered; millions of
dollars for Christ where there are now
thousands for Christ; railroads owned by
Christian stockholders, and governed by
Christian directors, and carrying passen-
gers and freight at Christian prices; George
Peabodys and Abbot Lawrences and James
LenoXes no rarity. Bank of England,
Bourse of France, United States Treasury,
all the moneyed institutions of the world
for Christine gold for Christ. Gold not
merely paid the way for Joseph and Mary
and the Divine fugitive into Egypt, but it
was typical of the fact that Christ's way
shall be paid all around the world. The
gold for Christ, the silver for Christ, the
jewels for Christ. The bright, round, beau
tiful jewel of a world set like solitaire on
the bosom of Christ.
But / notice that these wise men also
shook out of their sacks the myrrh. The cat
tie came and they snuffed att; they did not
eat it, because it was bitter. The pungent
gum resin of Abyssinia called myrrh
brought to the feet of Christ. That means
bitterness bitter betrayal, bitter persecu-
ton, bitter days of suffering, bitter nights
of woe, myrrh; that is what they strewed
His path with all the way from the cattle
pen in Bethlehem to the mausoleum at
Joseph's country seat Myrrh. Yea, says
the Psalmist: "All Thy garments smell of
myrrh." That is what the wise men
wrapped in the swaddling clothes of the
Babe; that is what the Marys twisted in
the shroud of crucified Christ. The
myrrh. Oh, the height, the depth, the
length, the breadth of a Saviour's sorrowi
Myrrh. Well might the wise men shake
out the myrrh.
But notice, also, from another sack they
shake out the frankincense. Clear up to
the rafters of the barn the air is filled with
the perfume, and the hostlers and the
camel drivers in the further part of the
building inhale it, and it floats out on the
air until passers-by wonder who in that
rough place could by accident have dropped
box of alabaster. Frankincence; that is
what they burned in the censor in the
ancient temple. Frankincense; that means
worship. Frankincence; that's to fill all the
homes, and all the churches, and all the
capitals, and all the nations, from cellar to
stalactited cave clear up to tire silvery raft
ers of the starlit dome. Frankincense;
that is what we shake out from our hearts
to-day, so that the nostrilS of Christ, once
crimsoned with the hemorrhage of the
cross, shall be flooded with the perfume of
worlds alteration. Frankincense. Frank
incense in song, and sermon, and hand
shaking, and decoration. Praise Him,
mountains and hills, valleys and seas, and
skies, and earth and Heaven-cyclone, in
your trumpets; northern lights, with your
flaming ensign; morning, with your castles
of cloud, and evening, with your billowing
clouds of sunset!
Do you know how they used to hold the
censor in the olden time2 Here is a metal
pan and the handle by which it was held.
In the inside of this pan were put living
Goals. On the top of them is perforated
cover. In square box the frankincense
was brought to the temple This franklin
cense was taken out and sprinkled over the
living Goals, and then the perforated cover
was put on, and when they were all ready
for worship, then the cover was lifted
from this censor, and from all the other
censers, and the purfumed smoke arose I'M
til it hung amid all the folds and dropped
amid all the affairs, and then rose in great
columns of praise outside or above the tenn
pie, rising clear upward to the throne of
God
So we have two censers to-day of Christ
mas frankincense. Here is the one censor
of earthly frankincense. On that we put
our thanks for the mercies of the past year,
the mercies of all our past lives, individual
mercies, family mercies, and our hearts,
burning with gratitude, send aloft the in.
cense of praise toward the throne of
Christ Bring on more incense and higher
and higher let the columns of praise as
cend. Let them wreathe all these pillars,
and hover amid all these arches, and then
soar to the throne.
But there is the other censor, Of Heaven
~ thanksgiving and worship. Let them
bring all their frankincense-the cherubim
bring theirs and the seraphim theirs, and
the one hundred and forty and four thou
sand theirs, and all the eternities theirs,
and let them smoke with perfume on this
Heavenly censor, until the cloud canopies
the throne of God. Then l take these two
censers-the censor of earthly franklin
cense, and the censor of Heavenly frank.
incense-and I swing them before the
throne, and then / clash them together in
one great Alleluia unto Him to whom the
wise men of the East brought the gold,
and the myrrh, and the frankincense, when
9 the star which they saw in the east went
before them.''
"LIFE is real-life is earnest" There is
a Divine sacredness in work Religion ele-
Yates and dignifies labor He who says
''Not slothful in business" would never
have given his sanction to a life of inact-
i've, dreamy pletism. His was mind far
theef oyed from, ha doo,ro f,at ,,,l,o,,